Amusement device



July 9, 1929. SCHLAK 1.720.060

AMUSEMENT DEVI GE Filed March 16, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet l mill July 9,1929. A. SCHLAK AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed March 16. 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 EMYW,

July 9, 1929. A. SCHLAK AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed March 16, 1927 4Sheets-Sheet III I Patented July 9, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUST SCHLAK, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN I. MEYER, 01.CHI- CAGO, ILLINOIS.

AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

Application filed March 16, 1927.

This invention relates to amusement devices and its object is to providenovel means adapted to be operated by a coin to furnish fun andentertainment or instruct-ion depending upon the information with whichthe machine is supplied to be disclosed by the operation of the coin.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of novelconstruction which is adapted to disclose one-of a series of sections ona display plate depending upon the set of the plate and the movement ofthe coin.

The invention has other objects in view which will appear hereinafter inthe detail description, reference being made to the drawings showing aselected embodiment of the invention, and referring to which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a machine embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a detail enlarged view showing one section of the displayplate disclosed to view by the operation of a coin.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the operating mechanism set in oneposition for operation by a coin, the cabinet being shown in section.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section of the coin tripper mechanism in setposition.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 with the tripper mechanism tripped bythe coin.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the parts in a differentposition.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on the line 88 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a rear elevation of the operating mechanism showing the partsas they appear in Fig. 7 except that one tripper has been operated by acoin.

Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional view on the line 10--1() of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a transverse sectional view on the line 1111 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 12 is a detail perspective view of one of the trippers.

Fig. 13 is a detail perspective view of the display plate.

Fig. 14 is a detail perspective View.

Referring to the drawings the invention comprises a cabinet 1 ofsuitable construction having an open front and a front plate 2 providedwith a central opening 3'and a plurality of coin openings 4 arranged ina transverse row above the opening 3. A supporting plate 5 is mounted onthe back of the Serial No. 175,752.

broken lines. Near the bottom of the support- 1 mg plate there are aplurality of openings 9 separated by ribs 10 having arrow shaped upperends 10. A transparent glass plate 11 is mounted in the front plate toclose the opening 3 therein and cover that part of the supporting platewhich would otherwise be exposed through said opening. Means hereafterdescribed are provided for supporting the coin temporarily in one of theopenings 9, as shown in Fig. 5 and for releasin the coin so that it maydrop through the s 0t 12 between the front plate and the supportingplate into the bottom of the cabinet. The front plate carries thesupporting plate and the latter carries all of the operating mechanismexcept the pointer 13 so that access may be readily had to the mechanismby removing the front plate. Therefore, I have made this front plateeasily removable by engaging the lower end of the'front plate with ashoulder 14 at the bottom of the cabinet and by providing a lock 15 atthe top of the front plate, on the back thereof, to engage a kee er onthe inside of the top of the cabinet. T e side edges 2 of the frontplate overlap parts of the cabinet (Fig. 7) and when the front plate issecured in place it completely closes the open front of the cabinet.

The ointer 13 is mounted rigidly on a shaft 1 which projects through thefront plate and carries a segment 16 rigid thereon. The pointer isadapted to be moved between the stops 17 (Fig. 1) to register with anyone of the lugs 18. These lugs are disposed to indicate correspondingsections on the front plate, (defined in a general way by broken lineson Fig. 1) and these sections are supplied with legends, symbols orother suitable matter which it is not necessary to show in order tofully understand the invention.

Segment 16 is provided with an arm 19, and a link 20 is pivotallyconnected at one end to this arm and at its other end to a display plate21. This plate is provided at its edges with flanges 22 .which slidablyengage the guides 23 fastened to the back of the front plate. Bymanipulating the pointer 13 the segment .is caused to swing on its pivot13 and move the display plate 21 up and down behind the openings 9 inthe supporting plate. The sections of the display plate (indicatedbybroken lines) may be supplied with verses, legends, symbols oranything suitable for display through individual openings 9. I In Fig.131 have shown the display plate provided with a variety of symbols butthis is merely for the purpose of illustrating one possible 7 use of theinvention. Ordinarily I propose to rint short sentences on the displayplate so hat one of them will be disclosed through any opening9 whichmay be exposed.

A plurality of trippers 24 are arranged to slide between lugs 25 on theback ot the supporting plate. Each tripper 24 (Fig. 12) is bowed outwardat 26 and has a longitudinal slot 27 and a hook 28 at the lower end ofthe slot. A spring 29 is engaged with a prong .30 formed on thesupporting plate, andextends through the slot 27 and is enga ed with thehook 28 (Figs. 4, The tendency of this spring is to hold the trippernormally in up position, as shown in Figs. at and 6, and to returnthetripper to upward position when itis released from down position asshown in Figs. 5 and 14:. The lower end of the tripper is. widened toprovide a sort of shutter 31 Which substantially covers the opening 9and that portion of the display plate behind said opening. 'T he tripperis bent slightly 'at -32,

at the top of the shutter 31, to set the shutter forwardly with respectto that portion ofthe v tripper immediately above the. shutter, so thatthe upper edge 33 of the shutter may engage the top edge 34 of itsopening 9 when the tripper is in lowered position. The segment 16 isprovided with a'plurality of pins 16 which are arranged to, engagecrossed cam arms35' pivoted at one end 36 on the supporting plate andprojecting outwardly close to the side edges of the supporting plate andare there connected with a set ting yoke 37 which crosses thetrippersand is held in guides 38 on the back of the faceplate 2. The settingyoke is arranged to engage lips 39 struck up from the trippers and whenthe segment is moved by operating the point er the-yoke will bedepressed to'move the trip pers downward and engage all of the shuttersin -position in the openings9 for concealing the display plate and thematter thereon. In the same operation it may here be noted, the displavplate is raised orlowered to aposition which .will be indicated by thepointer with certain display matter registered behind the openings 9tobe displayed when any one of the trippers is released and-returned to upposition (Fig. .6).

Each of the, shutters 31 is provided with a finger 31 which projectsforwardly into a position close to the glassplate 11 into the path of acoin 8 which may travel down into the pocket formed by two ribs 10,Fig. 1. The coin will strike the finger 31 and release the shutter fromits closed position, whereupon the coin will travel down through theslot12 into the cabinet and the tripper will slide upward under theinfluence of spring 29 leaving the opening 9 unobstructed so that theoperator may see whatever appears on the display plate within the rangeof the opening9.

I may apply the display matter directly upon the plate 21 or, as shownin Fig. 13, I may provide a card 21 hearing the display matter andremovably engaged with beads 21 on the plate so that the card may bechanged from time to time as desired. The display matter on this cardwill be arranged in sections which I have indicated in broken lines on13. These sections are arranged in series extendingtransversely of thecard and there are as many sections in. a series there are openings 9 inthe supporting plate, and there are as'niany series there are sec tionsand lugs 18 on the front plate' It will be observed that the series ofdisplay sections on the display plate corresponding to the particularlug 18 with which the pointer is registered will be arranged in registerwith the openings 9 in tl'ie supporting plate, but these openings willbe closed by the shutters 31 until a coin releases a shutter to uncoverthe opening and disclose the display section registered therewith.WVhenever the pointer is swung from 'one position to another alltrippers in released position are operated to close the shutters thesame time that the display plate is shi ted so that only those displaysections of the display plate which have been uncovered through theoperation of a coin or token of some kind will be displayed to theoperator since the shutters remain in closed position until they arereleased by the operation of a coin. The trippers slide against the backface of the supporting plate underneath the setting yoke and the latteris held in engagement with the trippers by the guides 38 so that thefingers 31' on the trippers are always positioned in the path of thecoins to be engaged thereby for releasing the trippers and uncoveringthe openings. VVhil-c it is expected that the pointer will be shifted toa new position after each operation by a coin this is not necessarybecause another coin may travel into another pocket and releaseanothertripper to open another shutter and disclose another section on thedisplay plate. But every time the pointer is shifted the display platewill be shifted and all the shutters will be closed. The legendsindicated by the lugs 18 may be in the form of questions and the displaymatter on the display plate'inay be in thet'orm of printed answers tothese questions. The answers may be humorous and of a nature to affordfun and amusement to the operator. I have shown and described thesupporting plate as made separately from the front plate, but it may beintegral with the front plate.

Other changes in the form, construction and arrangement of parts may bemade without departing from the spirit and without sacrificing theadvantages of the invention and. I reserve the right to make all suchchanges as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A coin operated machine comprising a plate having a plurality ofopenings therein, a vertically movable display plate disposed behindsaid openings, vertically movable shutters for closing said openings,and means for closing said shutters and setting said display plate in apredetermined position.

2. A coin operated machine comprising a plate having a plurality ofopenings therein, a display plate movably disposed behind said openings,said display plate having display sections thereon arranged in aplurality of series, the sections in each series being disposedcorrespondingly to said openings, means for setting said display platewith any one series of display sections registering with said openings,and means for closing said openings when the display plate is set.

3. A coin operated machine comprising a plate having a plurality ofopenings therein, a display plate movably disposed behind said openings,said display plate having display sections thereon arranged in aplurality of series, the sections in each series being disposedcorrespondingly to said openings, shutters for closing said openings,and means operable for closing all of said shutters and resetting saiddisplay plate.

4. A coin operated machine comprising a plate having a plurality ofopenings therein, a vertically movable display plate disposed behindsaid openings, vertically movable shutters for closing said openings,and a pointer accessible at the front of the machine for setting saiddisplay plate in a predetermined position and at the same time closingsaid shutters.

5. A coin operated machine comprising a plate having a plurality ofopenings therein, a display plate slidably disposed behind saidopenings, shutters for closing said openings, a movable pointeraccessible at the front of the machine, and means at the back of saidplate operated by said pointer for closing said shutters and settingsaid display plate.

6. A coin operated machine comprising a plate having a plurality ofopenings therein, a vertically movable display plate disposed behindsaid openings, an independent vertically movable shutter for closingeach opening, means at the back of the plate for closing any openshutter and for setting the dis play plate, and a movable device at thefront of the machine for operating said means.

7 A coin operated machine comprising a plate having an openin therein, aslidable display plate disposed behind said opening and having aplurality of display sections thereon, a shutter movable parallel to thedisplay plate for closing said opening, means for holding said shutterin closed position, and means adapted to be operated to release and movethe shutter to open position.

8. A coin operated machine comprising a plate having an opening therein,a display plate movably disposed behind said opening and having aplurality of display sections thereon, a tripper slidable on the back ofsaid plate, a shutter carried by said tripper and adapted to close saidopening, means for engaging the shutter in closed position, meansadapted to be operated to release the shutter, means for retracting theshutter When released, and means operated from the front of the machinefor closing said shutter and for setting said display plate.

9. A coin operated machine comprising a plate having an opening therein,a display plate movably disposed behind said opening, a springcontrolled tripper slidable on the plate and comprising a shutter toclose said opening, means for holding the shutter in closed position,means adapted to be operated to release the shutter and means adapted tobe operated at the front of the machine for closing the shutter and atthe same time shifting the display plate.

10. A coin operated machine comprising a plate having an openingtherein, a display plate movably disposed behind said opening, a tripperslidable on the back of the late and comprising a shutter adapted to cose said opening, means for holding the shutter in closed position,means on the shutter adapted to be operated to release the shutter, aspring for pulling the shutter away from said opening to disclose thedis lay plate, and means operated at the front 0 the machine forshifting said display plate and for closing said shutter When thedisplay plate is shifted.

11. A coin operated machine comprising a plate having an openingtherein, a display plate behind said opening, a slidable shutter forclosing said opening, said shutter having a shoulder to engage an edgeof the opening for holding the shutter in closed position, means forreleasing the shutter, means for Withdrawing the shutter from closedposition, and means for returning the shutter to closed position.

12. A coin operated machine comprisin a plate having an opening therein.a disp ay plate movably disposed behind said opening, a slidable trippercomprising a shutter adapted to close said opening, said shutter beingoffset to enter said opening and having a shoulder thereon to engage anedge of the opening for holding the shutter in closed po sition, meansadapted to be operated for releasing the shoulder, a spring forretracting the shutter when released, and means adapted to be operatedfrom the front of the plate for moving the tripper to close the shutter.

13. A coin operated machine comprising a plate having an openingtherein, a display plate movably disposed behind said opening, a trippercomprising a shutter for closing said opening, means for holding theshutter in closed position, a finger on the shutter adapted to beoperated to release the shutter, means for retracting the shutter fromclosed position, and means for returning the shutter to closed position.

14. A coin operated machine comprising a plate having a plurality ofopenings therein, a display plate movably disposed behind said openings,a separate tripper comprising a shutter for closing each. opening, meansfor holding the shutters in closed position, means adapted to beoperated for releasing the shutters, means for retracting the shuttersto disclose the display plate and cam means for moving said trippers toclose said openings.

15. A coin operated machine comprising :1

plate having a plurality of openings therein, a display plate movablydisposed behind said openings, a pivoted arm connected With the displayplate, and means for operating said arm to move said plate behind saidopenings for displaying different portions thereof, a series ofindividually operated shutters for said openings, and means foroperating said shutters.

16. A coin operated machine comprising a plate having a plurality ofopenings therein, a display plate movably disposed behind said openings,shutters for closing said openings, trippers carrying said shutters, andcam devicesadapted to be operated to move said trippers for closing saidopenings.

17. A coin operated machine comprising a plate having a plurality ofopenings therein, a display plate movably disposed behind said openings,movable trippers comprising shutters for closing said opening, a camoperated yoke for moving said trippers to close said shutters, a segmentfor operating said yoke, a link connecting said segment to said displayplate for shifting said plate, and means for operating said segment.

AUGUST SCHLAK.

